Garden of Beauty
by morningnight
Summary: A wonderful place that is beyond your wildest dreams lays right in front of you, inviting you to stay forever. Though, is that the only thing inviting you or is there something more dark and dangerous behind the wonder and beauty?
1. Chapter 1: The Discovery

_Discovery_

I ran and ran as fast as I could, trying to escape from them. The feeling of anger and loneliness filled me, scaring me to the bone. The roots and vines on the forest floor grabbed at my feet, trying to bring me down. I held out my hand as I pushed away a low branch, making a small cut appear on my palm. But I didn't care, I couldn't. I needed to keep running. I need to keep moving.

I ignored the pain in my sides as I gasped for breath, pushing my legs to move even faster. They were right behind me, I knew that, yet I could not bring myself to look.

_Come back_

_Stay with us_

_We won't hurt you_

The voices called out behind me, filling my head with thoughts that were not my own. I liked the silence. I liked hearing myself think. I liked not hearing them.

"Go away!" I screamed on the top of my lungs. The voices in my head just laughed as I pushed away another branch, tears falling down my face. My legs were growing tired and my chest felt if it was melting away with every heart beat that slammed into it.

_Come back_

_Stay here with us_

The voice laughed, mocking the fear I felt. I pushed past another tree branch when I felt something wrap around my ankle, pulling me to the ground. I let out a half scream as I hit the cold ground beneath me, the rocks and sticks cutting into my sink.

_Don't leave_

_Stay with us_

_We won't hurt you_

The voices echoed around in my head, making me let out another scream before everything fell silent once again.

* * *

"Takigawa, do an exorcism in the main hall." Naru said as he took a sip of his tea. "Take Matsuzaki and Father Brown with you."

"Alright." Bou-san said as he pulled himself up from the couch with a sigh. Ayako, who was sitting next to him, started to complain.

"Why? I'm sure he can do it fine himself."

"You are just saying that because you are a good for nothing priestess."

Ayako shot a glare at him.

"That isn't true!" She stood up and stomped her foot on the ground as she continued. "Out of all of us here, I have the better chance to actually exercise the ghost!"

"Alright then, prove it!" Bou-san smiled, gesturing for the door.

"I will!" The red head snapped as she left the room, slamming the door behind her. Bou-san turned to the others, a smile on his face.

"And that is how you get out of an exorcism."

"You are so smart my love!" Yasuhara shouted at him as he jumped up and tried to hug Bou-san, who quickly dodged. John tried to hide the laughter that was escaping his mouth.

"Hey, get off!" Bou-san yelled when Yasuhara tackled him from behind.

"That was great Bou-san!" Mai yelled as she fell over on the couch, talking in between laughs.

"You do realize that you still have to go and watch in case Matsuzaki fails, right?" Naru interrupted, making everyone look at him. "Which we all know she will."

Bou-san sighed to himself as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Yea, I figured that." He said before turning to John and nodding towards the door. "Ready?"

"Yes." John said before following him out of the room.

Mai laid back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. They were currently in the Hirto house, investigating a series of occurrences that have been happening. It had been two days since they had come to the house, and truthfully, Mai thought they should be out of here by now. All of the accidents were plain signs of a poltergeist even though the exorcism they had done when they first came had failed. This, of course, let Naru to check out the two people living here, but the test had come up clean. Now everyone was just lazing around, trying to come up with something.

Mai guessed that since Naru told them to do another exorcism, he got annoyed with them all hanging around here.

Suddenly, the couch beneath Mai began to shake. She quickly sat up and saw that Yasuhara had noticed it too since the chair he had been sitting on fell over and began to move on the ground.

"What the-"

"Everyone get out!" Naru shouted as he stood from his chair. It was then that Mai noticed that the whole house was staring to shake. She quickly pulled herself up and ran towards the door, Yasuhara, Lin and Naru close behind her.

As they ran down the long hall leading to the front of the house, they saw pictures and other furnitature falling to the ground, smashing into pieces. When they finally reached the lobby, Mai saw Ayako and Bou-san hanging onto the wall, trying to keep on their feet as John continued his prayer, barely able to keep standing.

"In the beginning, there was the word and the word was god…" John continued.

"What happened?" Naru yelled over the noise of thing fall around them. Bou-san looked at him and yelled as loudly as he could.

"We don't know! As soon as John started, the house began to shake!"

Slowly, as John began to finish the prayer, the house around them began to shake less until it got to the point where it had completely stopped.

"….Amen." John finished. He then turned to Naru, looking a little shaken up. "I'm not quite sure what happened either. One minute, everything is fine, and the next the house was shaking. Though, I think what ever it was, the exorcism worked."

"Well as long as it is over now." Ayako sighed as she stood up straight. She dusted off her priestess outfit as she tucked some loose strains of her red hair behind her ear.

Just as the words left her mouth, the house gave another lurch and there was a loud cracking noise from outside.

Everyone looked around at each other before running to the back of the house. When they got there, a large gravestone stood there, cracked in half.

"Looks like we found the reason for the haunting." Bou-san said as they all stared at the stone. No one saying a word after that.

"Thank you so much for your help." said Joshiro, the person who had called them. His recently new wife, Otoa, and him called just five days ago, claiming they had some issues with a haunting. Apparently the reason was that Joshiro's grandmother's gravestone was not the grave of his grandmother, but of his grandfather, a mass murder who had died a couple of years back.

"It was our pleasure." Mai said as Naru turned and walked away without another word. "I am sorry about your house though." Mai then bowed to them before chasing after Naru and getting into the van.

As they drove down the empty highway, Mai looked out onto the lake that was there. The sun shined down on it, blinding her vision some. The green algae and the flowers that ran along the edges made the cool blue water look more peaceful. As it drifted back and forth with the wind Once in a while, she caught a glimpse of a fish swimming just below the surface.

Then it was all taken away when the beautiful lake view turned to a green forest. It wasn't as fun to look at since all she saw was the blur of green and brown, so she decided to look somewhere else for a time.

"Lin stop." Naru said suddenly, making Lin come to a stop. In the rear view mirror, Mai saw Bou-san step on the brakes and make a funny face. Behind him, Yasuhara wrapped his arms around Bou-san's neck and buried his face in the head rest.

"What is it?" Lin asked as Naru climbed out of the car. Mai followed Naru with her eyes to the edge of the forest.

"Hey, what is the big idea!?" She heard Bou-san yell as he stepped out from his car. "Don't just suddenly stop like that!"

Ayako and Yasuhara climbed out of the car after him, but Mai paid no attention to that. Her eyes were focused on the pile of clothes in the tall grass.

* * *

Guess who!? That's right! It's the pink little rabbit under you bed! No, um, not really. By the way, I am NOT (!) two days late with this...Tuesday I had a tennis game and I was just exhausted after my first day at school, yesterday (Wednesday), tennis practice ran late and I had psychology homework to do. Today (Thursday), my tennis game ran REALLY late like, 4 hours of playing tennis. (3-7) and yea it was bad. But I typed this up for you! (in my notebook, it is way longer) so I hope you enjoy it!

Also, the lake and the body (I just realized I did that) has nothing to do with anything. Sorry, but no Gene or whatever pops in your head. Those are just an accident on my part and I really just don't want to change it.

Also, you may have noticed, (or not) but um...I didn't finish my other stories. Summer caught up to me and it was just down hill from there...

Also, I know what I said at the end of "Run Here My Dear" With the summary and stuff, but I am not doing that. I found more entertainment in this one. It's kinda horrory (if that is a word) so yea I hope it brings you awsometasticness!(I like making up words).

(3 Also's in the last time) I have no idea what to talk about now, so I will leave you for now. I should update soon though. Now to go do my homework!...ha! yea right.

I do not, under any circumstance, own Ghost Hunt. All rights go to the Author; Fuyumi Ono

I do not, under any circumstance, own the Picture used with this story. All rights go to the Artist, SARETTA1 **(saretta1 . deviantart . com) **(*please minus spaces before adding to your url box)


	2. Chapter 2: The man and the girl

_The man and the girl  
_

"On other news, there was a body found on the highway of…" The New lady's voice died away as a whistle went off behind Mai. She turned around and grabbed the kettle before pulling it off of the burner and pouring the hot liquid into a cup. "…It was said to be a female around the age of nineteen, who had been missing for three weeks now. Police are asking people for any information on this missing girl or the incident to this call the number on the screen below…"

"Shut that off," Naru snapped as he walked into the kitchen. Mai turned around to find him walking over to one of the cabinets and looking through its contents.

"Is there something you are looking for?" Mai asked.

"No," Naru said plainly before shutting the cabinets and moving to the one next to it. Mai sighed to herself before pulling the tea bag out of the water and placing it into the garbage under the sink. She then picked up one of the cups and headed towards Lin's office, where he was working. She knocked on the door and entered after she heard a small noise.

"Here you are Lin," Mai said as she placed down the cup next to him. He nodded his head in thanks before Mai left. When she walked back into the kitchen, Naru was still there, flipping through the cabinets. "Naru, are you sure you are not looking for anything?"

"Yes, Mai, I am sure," Naru sighed as he slammed his hands on the counter and let his head fall to his chest. Mai just watched as Naru took a deep breath to calm himself, thinking. "I am fine, now I suggest you make me some tea before the new client arrives."

"I already made tea," Mai pointed to the steaming cup of tea next to her on the counter. She had left it there for Naru before she had visited Lin. Naru just looked over to the cup and glared at it.

"Fine," He stood up and walked over, grabbing the cup. He then walked back to his office, slamming the door.

Mai stared at the CEO door, unsure of what to think. Naru had been acting strange all morning, but now it was just weird. When she had asked if everything was okay, he just snapped at her, saying it wasn't any of her business. Obviously it was if he was going to be even worse to her than normal.

The door opened and Mai stepped out of the kitchen to see a teenager walk into the door, looking around nervously.

"Can I help you?" Mai asked, scaring the girl. She jumped and turned to look at Mai with a fearful face.

"Oh, um, is Shibuya in?" The girl asked. She had her black hair tied behind her head in a low bun. Her brown eyes scanned all around her, looking at everything as if it would jump out at her at any minute. Her baggy clothes hung to her body, hiding the pale skin that clung to her bones.

"Yes, do you have an appointment?" Mai asked as she smiled, trying to reassure her. The girl just shook her head. "Well I think we have enough time to fit you in anyway," Mai said gesturing towards the couch. The girl gave a weak smile before walking towards the couch. Mai turned to get Naru and found him standing in his doorway, a glare on his face.

"We don't have time," he said, making the girl freeze in her half sitting position.

"Naru!" Mai yelled at him. He just shook his head.

"The client who _has _an appointment will be here shortly. I will not start another interview when we are expecting someone else," Naru stated, not taking his eyes from Mai, or even showing any sign of caring that the girl was there.

"But-"

"But nothing, now get her out of here," Naru said as the door behind opened and a man walked in. He took one look around the room, his eyes freezing on the girl.

"Hastia!" He yelled when he saw her. The girl cringed in fear. "What did I say about leaving the house!?"

"I'm sorry," The girl said in a small voice.

"Excuse me," Naru interrupted. The man looked at him, not seeming to have noticed him earlier. "Can I help you?"

The man straightens up and fixed his tie before saying, "Yea, I have an appointment."

"Very well, please sit," Naru gestured towards the couch before turning to Mai and saying "Mai," warning her to get the girl out. Mai sighed but nodded. The girl stood up and was about to walk away when the man grabbed her arm and yanked her back to the couch.

"You are not going anywhere out of my sight, do you understand?" The man snapped. The girl folded in on herself as she nodded her head shyly. Mai looked at Naru, who was paying no attention to it.

"I understand you were having a problem with your property?" Naru asked as he sat down. Lin walked in from his office, apparently hearing the conversation, and went to sit next to him. Mai walked to the kitchen and started to prepare more tea, all while listening the best she could.

"Yes, someone is on my property and I want them gone,"

"We are not the police, Mr…"

"Hoen," The man said. "And I am aware of that, though my wife thinks that it is something else. I know there are no such things as ghosts but until she can be proved, I am winning a losing battle. That is why I am here. I want you to prove to my wife that those stupid ass brats are the cause of all this."

"And if they aren't"

"They are,"

"If you are so such of yourself, why don't you set up camera yourself? Why pay us to do things you can do yourself with such ease?"

"Because all the cameras I set up get destroyed," The man explained. "Along with anything we try to grow. Nothing seems to be allowed back there, and it is starting to get old. I just want all of this shit to stop so that I can get along with my business."

"Very well," Naru said as the whistle went off. Mai took the kettle off of the burner and began to pour the water into four separate cups. Once they were filled, she placed the tea bags in and waited for them to soak up. "Tell us about the incidents that are occurring."

"Like I said before, nothing seems to be growing in our yard. No matter how many times we plant, nothing grows. There have also been strange fires occurring on some parts of our property."

"Where exactly?"

"The shield, some bushes by the forest, and once or twice in or near the house. When the police investigated, they could not find the source. There are also those rumors going around about the disappearances. That body that they had found on the news; that was one of our guest at the party about three and a half weeks ago. Someone said they saw her going into the forest after she said that she wasn't feeling well. Apparently, it was some sort of short cut to her house. That was the last anyone had seen her."

"Did you tell the police?"

"Of course, they lose her trail around two hundred yards in," Hoen said. "That is why I'm here. My wife refuses to let it go, saying the ghost did this, and that we should get help. I think it is all non-sense, but if my wife wants something, it's not like I can refuse."

Mai placed the tray down in front of them and everyone reached to grab a cup expect the girl. She just stared at the ground, her eyes wide with fear as she kept her hands in a tight fist on her knees. Mai stared at her for a moment but was drawn away when she noticed Naru glaring at her to move.

"I am not saying we will take the case, but I will think about it. Like you said, this all could point to troubled teens in your neighborhood.

"It's not, I saw them!" screamed the girl suddenly. Every eye went to her as she cringed in her seat.

"You will have to excuse my niece. Ever since her mother pasted away and she had moved in with us, she has been making up the most ridiculous stories."

"When did her mother pass away?" Naru asked suddenly, sounding interested.

"About two months ago, why?"

"And when did all of this starting happening?"

"About two months ago…." His sentence trailed off as it hit him. He turned to look at the girl sitting next to him. "It was you!" He screamed. He stood up and pulled back a fist to hit her but Naru stopped him.

"Mr. Hoen!" Hoen looked at Naru. "I would prefer you deal with your private life elsewhere and I ask you to sit down," Hoen looked between Naru and Hastia before sitting down. "Now, I am not saying she _is_ the issue, but I am saying she could be related to it. I would ask that you have three rooms prepared for us in two days time; two to be used as bedrooms, possibly close to each other and a third to be used for a base, one with a large amount of plugs. We will be arriving to intestate early in the morning to set up. I ask that you leave you information with my assistant before you leave. That is all" With that, Naru stood up and left.

* * *

Hey everyone, guess who!? That's right! It's the rainbow crack addicted kitty that you see when you sleep at night because it hides under your bed to wait for you to fall asleep so it can steal your money and hid your keys! No not really...its more of a blueish then rainbow.

Anyway, My computer broke so this is my first day getting it back and I am trying to update as much as possible. So, yea...Here is the second chapter to Garden of Beauty. I actually got this idea when I found an old story of mine I wrote about a Garden that sucked the life out of people. It was like some weird old legend or something. I don't know. I might post it on deivantART. (I am 'mornnight' on there. some other bitch stole 'morningnight'...she isn't really a bitch, I am sure she is nice...)

Speaking of deviantART, The lovely Picture I have up for this story comes from an artist by the name of SARETTA1 (link below...minus the spaces because fanfiction won't allow the letters "h t t p" on this website for some stupid unknown reason, but if you copy and paste it up in the little url box [after you get rid of spaces] it should still work. It did for me) You guys should go check it out, she has some awesome pictures there. I just chose this one cause it matched the theme and what will happen later (and she gave me permission ^^ yea!).

Yea, I really have nothing more to say...so yea...bye bye

I don't not, under any circumstance, own Ghost Hunt. All rights go to the Author; Fuyumi Ono

I do not, under any circumstance, own the Picture used with this story. All rights go to the Artist, SARETTA1 **  
**


	3. Chapter 3 The Cat

_The Cat_

Mai walked slowly up the stair to the attic, trying not to trip to the steep stairs.

"Do you see anything?" called up Bou-san as he stood at the bottom, looking up into the dark after her. Mai shook her head, forgetting that he can see her. They were currently at the Hoen house hold, setting up cameras in all the places they thought useful. What Mai didn't understand was why Naru wanted one in the attic, but she thought it better now to question him. "Mai?"

"No, Do you have a flashlight?" Mai called down as her foot caught on a step. She quickly reached out and grabbed the railing before she could fall.

"What was that?" Bou-san asked as a bright light appeared in her face.

"Nothing, can you pass that up?" Mai held out her hand as he turned the flashlight around and reached up. She quickly grabbed it before shining it above her head. A cold breeze blew down, making her shiver. Mai sighed to herself as she thought about how this had even come to be.

_Mai climbed up the front stairs to the house, not paying attention to the steepness of the steps. She was too focused on getting to work because of what had accrued at their office a few days ago. Though, because of this, Mai didn't see the sunken step and she soon found herself falling to the ground. _

"_Mai, watch it," Naru said as he saw her tripped up the stairs. She felt her face go a little red as she glared at the step that had tripped her. The least he could do was ask if she was alright. That was the least he could do. _

"_Are you alright?" Bou-san asked as he walked up to her and helped her to her feet. The stairs up to the old house was not exactly some of the safest in the world and Mai was starting to curse them more and more as she continued to stumble her way up them. When she finally got to the top, where Naru had been waiting for her impatiently, he turned and knocked on the door. There was a moment of pause before it was opened and a woman stood there. _

"_Oh hello, may I help you?" she asked, pulling her shawl around her tighter. _

"_My name is Shibuya Kazuya and I have told Mr. Hoen that we would be arriving today." Naru said, introducing himself. The woman looked between him and the group of people behind him before nodding her head. _

"_Please come in," She opening the door a little more for them. Naru stepped inside followed by Lin, Mai and Bou-san. She closed the door quietly and, as she went into the other room, she kept her face down. "Please come this way," She went to sit on the couch. _

"_Actually, we would like to get started as soon as possible," Naru said as she sat down. She wrapped the shawl even tighter around her and said in a shaky voice. _

"_That is fine, though I must warn you, there has been another disappearance."_

"_Did you call the police?" _

"_I did," _

"_And?"_

"_They said I have to wait a full forty eight hours before I can report it." The woman sounded as if she was on the verge of tears. "They said until that much time has passed, I cannot report anything." _

"_Who went missing?" Bou-san asked. The woman looked up at him as she held back tears. Her somewhat wrinkled face looked paled from all of the stress. Big dark bags hung under her green eyes as the shined with water. Her small fragile hands were clinging to the shawl as she spoke up. _

"_My daughter,"_

"Stupid Naru and his stupid orders" Mai mumbled as she made her way up the rest of the stairs. She turned around and got down on her knees before pulling up the camera bag that Bou-san was holding for her. Just as he was about to climb up, the radio in his pocket began to speak.

"Takigawa report it," Bou-san grabbed the radio from his back pocket before pulling it out and clicking the bottom.

"What up?" He asked before waiting for the voice on the other line to speak.

"Are you and Mai almost finished with setting up cameras?" This time it was Naru's voice.

"Yea, we have the attack and then the bedroom, why?" Bou-san looked up at Mai, who just shrugged, not knowing why he cared either.

"Come back to the base. Mai can finish setting up the rest of the cameras by herself."

"But the equipment is heavy!" Mai complained, not realizing that Bou-san had his finger on the bottom.

"Then I will get Yasuhara to go out there if you are too weak to carry a little bag around" Naru vice said before disappearing again. Mai's face went red as she was about to scream something back. Bou-san, though, quickly cut her off and said

"Yea, I'll be done in a minute," He then tossed her the radio and said "Play nice now."

Mai stuck out her tongue as he walked away. She pulled herself up and used the flashlight to look around the room. In some areas, the floorboards were missing or broken while others looked extremely weak. The temperature in the room was also not something she liked. It was too cold for the time of day, but she figured it was because it was always dark up here.

"Okay, now where do I put you…?" She asked as she picked up the bag. It made her right shoulder drop a little at the sudden weight, but she ignored it as she slowly made her way over to the far right corner of the room, where, thankfully, most of the floorboards where in-tacked. As she stepped, she made sure to check each plank before stepping on it and moving on. When she reached her destination, Mai putdown the bag and began to pull out all of the things she needed to start setting up.

Five minutes later, everything was set up and all she had left to do was turn it on.

_Creak_

Mai paused and turned around, shining the flashlight across the room.

"Hello?" She called out, but there was no response. Thinking it must have been the wind, she turned back to the camera to finish up when she heard another noise.

"Meow," Mai shined the flashlight across the room one more time and in the far corner, she saw the last part of a cat's tail disappeared behind wall.

"Hello?" Mai called out as she stepped away from the bag. She took a couple of steps forwards and shined the flashlight at the corner, but she still couldn't see over there clearly. So, making sure it was safe, she began to venture over there, keeping the flashlight between the floorboards and the corner where the cat was. "Kitty?"

Mai stepped to the right a little and shined the flashlight in the corner, clearly seeing everything that was there.

There was nothing.

"What the-?" Mai looked around the room to see the same cat's tail disappear behind another wall. Confused on what was going on, Mai began to walk over there, thinking that the cat had somehow sneaked by her. Yet, just like before, when she got over there, there was nothing. "Weird."

Mai turned around to head back to the camera when something stopped her. Sitting feet from her was a large grey cat, staring up at her with green eyes. It's long tail started whipping around itself, as if it wanted to play.

"Oh, hello" Mai said, not sure when it had gotten there.

"Meow," It said as it watched her.

_Come back_

_Stay with us_

_We won't hurt you_

"What?" Mai asked, not sure if she had heard correctly. Was the cat…talking?

_Don't leave_

_Stay with us_

_We won't hurt you_

Mai took a step closer to the cat, not sure what was going on. She felt as if she should go with this cat. She felt as if she went with this cat, something good will happen.

_Lies_

_Hatred_

_Don't Listen_

Something stopped her and she found herself closing her eyes and shaking her head a little. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that the cat was gone and she was once again alone in the attic.

Not thinking much of it, Mai walked back over to the camera before turning it on and grabbing the bag. When she turned around to leave, she saw a figure staring at her through the darkness. The darkness around it was amplified by the light coming from the floor below. An eerie feeling crept up her spine suddenly, and Mai felt as if she should run.

"Ah!" Mai screamed as saw the figure. She lost her footing and quickly fell to the ground, hurting her butt on the wood. A laugh erupted from the figure as they grabbed onto the edge of the floor, trying not to fall back.

"Mai, that was hilarious! You should have seen your face!" came the voice of Yasuhara. Mai grabbed her chest, trying to calm her pounding heart.

"Yasu!" Mai screamed at him. "Don't scare me like that!"

"I didn't mean to!" Yasuhara said through his laughter. "I called out to you a few times, but you must have not heard me."

"It's not funny!" Mai said as she found herself beginning to laugh. "Stop it!" She burst out laughing with him, knowing that even though she was scared for her life for one second, it was actually funny to know it was nothing.

"Come on, we have one more camera to set up right? Than we can get some rest!" Yasuhara said as Mai got to her feet and walked over to him. He quickly climbed down the stairs before holding up his arms for Mai to drop the bag to him.

As she climbed down the stairs, Mai looked up one last time to see the cat looking down at her.

"Hey, Yasu," Mai asked as she watched the cat watch her.

"Hmm?" He asked, not bothering to turn towards her.

"Did the Hoens ever mention having a cat?" Mai looked at him to see him halfway down the hall, already pulling out the tripod for the next camera. He looked up at her with a confused look.

"No, why?"

"No reason," Mai said as she looked back up at the attic door. The grey cat was now gone, leaving nothing but an entrance way to darkness filled room.

* * *

Happy Early Halloween! I know I haven't updated this in forever and there is ABSOLUTELY no reason for me not to have. You are all too good to me and I love you all! But I guess, as a little bonus for this chapter, if you are reading this author's note, and you review, I will give you a 'little preview' for the next chapter. (You have to have an account for this to work sadly). So until next time!

P.S. I'll be putting up some Halloween one-shots tomorrow, so check them out when you can! (Types: Ghost Hunt, D. Gray-man, Kieli)

I do not, under any circumstance, own Ghost Hunt. All rights go to the Author; Fuyumi Ono

I do not, under any circumstance, own the Picture used with this story. All rights go to the Artist, SARETTA1 **(saretta1 . deviantart . com) **(*please minus spaces before adding to your url box)


	4. Chapter 4 The Fire

_The Fire_

After all of the cameras had been set up, Yasuhara and Mai made their way back down to the base, where Naru, Lin, Ayako and John were waiting for them.

"What was that scream?" Bou-san asked when they walked in, not really sounding one bit worried about it. Mai turned a glare to Yasuhara, who just began to laugh again.

"She got freaked out in the attic and fell on her ass!"

"It's not funny!" Mai said but she couldn't hide her own smile. Soon, Bou-san, Ayako were laughing too, causing Naru to step in.

"What did you find?" Bou-san turned to Naru and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, um…nothing," He gave a dry laugh. "We searched all around the house and even in the front and back yard, but I can't sense anything that would be causing any of the fires. All the wiring and stuff is secure and there aren't any open burners or heating sources. It seems more like this place would be one of the last places catch on fire. "

"Same, I barely found anything," Ayako said as she sat down on the comfy chair that had been placed in the room. "John?"

"Well, I thought I sensed something a few minutes ago, but it could have just been my imagination," He said, writing it off quickly. "Also, somewhere by the woods in the back of the house, it feels like there is something keeping people away. I said a quick pray and it seemed to work."

"Lin, do we have any camera's facing the woods?" Naru asked as he turned to the man. Lin turned to face him as he shook his head.

"We have one over by the front and one in the back, but they aren't facing the woods," Lin said. Naru turned to the group about to say something when a scream rippled throughout the house. Bou-san and Naru both quickly ran out of the room, followed by Ayako, Mai and John. When they got to the kitchen, they all stopped to see giant flames reaching up to the ceiling. On the floor, near the wall was Hastia. She was pressed up against the wall as her eyes widened in horror at the yellow and red colors filling the room. Bou-san ran to the sink and pulled out the fire extinguisher as Mai ran toward the girl.

"What happened?" Mai asked as Bou-san fought the flames.

"I-I-I didn't mean to...I-I really didn't-" She stuttered out, too afraid to talk or even think.

"Didn't mean what?" Mai asked. She looked over at Bou-san to see that he was having a hard time trying to get the flames under control. Apparently the fire extinguisher wasn't working.

"To make them angry,"

"What do you mean?" Mai asked over Bou-san's yelling. The girl just looked at her and shook her head, not wanting to answer. "Hatia what do you mean we made them anger?"

"I called the fire department, they are on their way!" Ayako yelled as she took a step out of the room. Bou-san threw aside the fire extinguisher and moved back a little more as the flames began to grow even more.

"Alright, get everyone out!" Naru yelled as pointed to the door. He never took his eyes away from the roaring fire that was still growing, but yet staying in the same place. "Mai, let's go!"

"Come on, we need to get out!" Mai grabbed Hastia's arm to pull her up, but dropped it immediately. Her skin felt like ice even though the flames were only feet away.

"Mai! We need to get out of here!" Naru yelled at her but she didn't seem to hear him. She was too entranced by the girl sitting on the floor in front of her. In less than a second, the girl that once had black hair and brown eyes was now a little girl. Her brown hair reached past her bright green eyes and touched her shoulders. She was smaller than Hastia even though she wore her clothes and Mai couldn't help but notice that this girl only looked to be elementary age.

Something grabbed her hand and yanked her away and when she turned, she found Naru dragged her out of the kitchen.

"Naru, wait there is a little girl back there!" Mai screamed as she looked over her shoulder. As they turned the corner, Mai couldn't help but notice that no one was there.

"Mai there was no one there, remember? We are the only ones in the house today," Naru pulled Mai out of the house as a large fire truck pulled up followed by some police cars.

The group stayed outside and talk to the police while the firemen did their job. It only took a few minutes to extinguish the fire and as they investigated the cause of it, the police continued their investigation outside.

"So in other words, you are saying that you all were on the other side of the house when the fire caught randomly?"

"She said it was because she made them angry," Mai said without thinking. Everyone turned to her and she felt her face go a little red.

"I'm sorry?"

"I saw Hastia in there and she said she had made the angry." Mai said, more to the group than to the officer. She had been doing this for so long, that she knew he wouldn't believe her anyway.

"Right and I saw a rainbow crack addicted kitty," The officer said as the firemen came out. He turned and walked over to them to find out what had happened.

"Mai, Hastia is in school right now, so what would she be doing in the kitchen?"

"Well…" Mai tried to think. She had known Hastia was in school, but she couldn't explain what she had seen all that too well. "I guess it wasn't her but there someone there."

"We will check out the cameras when we get back inside. There is one out in the hall by there, so we should have caught something," Naru looked up as the officer gestured from him to come over. "Yasuhara, go to the library and see what you can find on the owners. Takigawa, Matsuzaki and Father Brown, I want you to go around the house again and check for anything you can find. Obviously, you missed something before," Naru than began to walk over to the men who were waiting to speak to him. Just as everyone was about to go to do their jobs, Naru called over his shoulder. "Mai tea,"

Mai sighed to herself as she walked around the back of the house. Luckily, they had brought a burner for her to use and she was more than happy to use it. She went around and walked up the path that lead to the door in the back, but paused for a second, looking at the forest that was spreading out around.

_Come back_

_Stay with us_

_We won't hurt you_

_Don't leave_

Mai turned to look at the forest completely, confused on if she had heard it correctly.

_Come with us_

_Stay here_

_We won't leave_

_Don't hurt us_

Knowing she had heard it, she began to walk towards it, not sure what to do.

_Hehehehe_

Mai looked closely to find a little girl with brown hair running into the forest, her white dress flowing behind her.

_Come play with us Mai_

Mai walked down the hill and to the edge of the forest, the anticipation of finding out what might be in there overwhelming her. She had to know despite the overwhelming feeling to run away. Both feelings were crashing up against her, making her wonder which one she wanted to let rule over her. She wanted to know, she had to know what was in there, but she was afraid; she was afraid of _what_ was in there.

"Mai?" Mai turned around to find John standing over by the camera they had placed facing the camera. He was looking at her with a confused face, and to keep him from asking any questions, she just smiled.

"I thought I saw a cat run in there, that's all," Mai laughed off, suddenly coming to her senses. She hadn't thought a cat had gone in there, she was sure one hadn't. She knew for a fact that she had heard voices telling her to go in there and that something had consumed her, pulling her towards it, but she didn't want to tell John that. Something was telling her not too.

"Oh, well Naru just finished talking to the fire department. They contacted the owners and told them and apparently they are furious. He says he wants to get all the data together to go over it before they get back. He wants to have something to explain to them for when they get back."

"Well, than I might as well get his tea before he gets anymore grumpy," Mai laughed as she scratched the back of her head. She then turned and headed back up to the house, trying to ignore the feeling of John's eyes on her the whole time.

"Mai, where have you been?" Naru asked as she entered the base. She walked over to the burner and began to prepare the tea.

"I got distracted by the forest," Mai said as she placed the small kettle on the burner. She turned it on and turned around to find Naru and Lin looking at her. "What?"

"You got distracted by the forest?" Naru asked, making sure he had heard correctly.

"Yea, I thought I saw a cat run into the forest," Mai said as she leaned back. She could feel the heat coming off of the burner behind her.

"Mai, the Hoen's don't own a cat, nor have they ever mentioned there being one in the area," Naru placed down the file on the table beside her.

"But I swear I swear-"

"Did you see this cat before or was it the first time?" Naru asked, pressing the matter more than she would have liked. "Did you see anything else with it?"

"No-well ah-" Mai was saved by the white of the kettle, giving her more time to think about it. "I saw the cat in the attic before Yasuhara came up. Other than that, I didn't see anything.

The door opened and Yasuhara walked in, holding up a file.

"Yasuhara, see what you can find out about cat spirits," Naru interrupted. Yasuhara frowned at him before hanging his head and walking out. "Lin, check all the camera too see if you find anything walking in or out of the forest."

Mai walked over and placed a cup of tea on the table next to Naru and then placed one beside Lin, who nodded in thanks.

The door opened and Bou-san, Ayako and John walked in, carrying the old tapes they had collected.

"I don't know if this is important, but I heard strange noises coming from the attic when I was up there. It practically scared me to death."

"Yet you were brave enough to go up there and get the tap, all by yourself!" Bou-san teased as he handed the tapes over to Lin. Ayako glared at him but Naru spoke up before she could say anything.

"What kind of noises?"

"Just soft noises. At first, they sounded like whispers but when I listened closely, they sounded more like leaves."

"Leaves?" Bou-san asked as he sat down on the couch.

"Yea, like someone was rustling leave or something," Ayako sat down in the chair next to the couch and leaned on the arm rest. "But since I was in the attic, I figured it was the wind or something."

"I don't think-"

"What the hell is going on in here!?" screamed a voice that made everyone look at the door. "Where is Mr. Shibuya, I want to speak to him immediately!"

* * *

Hey everyone, I know its been a while since I updated, but I am updating tonight! My birthday was last friday and now I can have so much fun doing things I shouldn't do yea! Anyway, imma gonna go, my sister is bugging me to go play this game with her so I need to go, Bye!

morningnight out!

I do not, under any circumstance, own Ghost Hunt. All rights go to the Author; Fuyumi Ono

I do not, under any circumstance, own the Picture used with this story. All rights go to the Artist, SARETTA1 **(saretta1 . deviantart . com) **(*please minus spaces before adding to your url box)


	5. Chapter 5 The Information

_The Information_

There were loud footsteps that trailed down the hall and no one said anything as the door was flung open and a man walked in.

"I'm in the middle of work and I get a call from the police informing me that my house caught fire. What is the meaning of this!? I thought your job was to catch these stupid ghosts; not burn my house down!"

"I can assure you we did not mean for that to happen. We were-"

"Oh you didn't mean that to happen?" Mr. Hoen said, cutting Naru off. This made him pissed. "Then I guess its okay than. All if forgiven. Who the hell do you think is going to pay for all these damages? It's not like I have money falling out of my ass and I can just replace everything! Now I want to know how you're going to fix this!"

"We will do everything we can to prevent this from happening again. Though, having you yell is not going to get anyone anywhere," The sharpness in his voice made Mr. Hoen go quiet. "What happened to your kitchen is unknown to us due to the fact that every single one of my team was in this rom. If you would wait for me to finish processing my tapes instead of bursting in here accusing everyone, we might know what really happened." Mr. Hoen remained quiet, but never once did the anger look from his face fade. "If you continue to accuse my team of something, they did not do, I will have no choice but to pack up and leave."

"I don't want to find anymore damages done to my house. If it wasn't for the fact that my sister asked you to come here, then I would have never even let you in my house." He said after a minute of silence.

"You're sister?" Bou-san asked, a little confused.

"Yes, my sister. She continues to believe in all those ridicules things. Truthfully, I think you are all frauds," He sounded so proud of himself as she said this. "but I thought I would humor her this one time. Don't make me regret it." Then he left.

The room remained silent for a moment before someone spoke up.

"Did he just say we were frauds?" Everyone looks to Bou-san, who had his eyes on the door. "Wasn't he the one who told us to come?"

"That was what I thought," Ayako leaned back in the couch.

"He came to the office, but he wasn't the one who wanted us to come," Naru said as he reached for the file on the table. He opened it and looked through it. "His wife was."

"But he said sister," Bou-san pointed at the door as if the man was still there.

"What if we were mistaken?" Ayako asked. "What if the woman we met was his sister, not the wife? We just assumed she was because they had the same last name, but we could be wrong."

"No, she was the wife," Naru said, looking intently into the file. "That man wasn't Mr. Hoen."

* * *

Yasuhara walked down the street, humming to himself. He was on his way back from the library, and he had some new, interesting information to tell Naru.

"It caught fire?" said one of the women Yasuhara was walking past. He slowed his pace a little, listening to their conversation. "Good. That place needs to burn to the ground."

"Airu, don't say things like that!" whispered the brunette next to her. Yasuhara looked over his shoulder to find that the woman had paused in their walk. "For all you know, we could be next."

"Next? Yea, right! As long as we stay away from that disgusting house, we will be fine. I mean, it's only ever happened when someone was on the property."

Curiosity taking over, Yasuhara turned over and walked the short distance between him and the girl, wearing the brightest smile he could muster.

"Hello," He said. Both women looked up at him, surprised for a second, before relaxing and smiling back. "I hate to bother you two lovely ladies on this wonderful day, but I'm here investigating that house you both were just talking about. I was wondering if you could answer some of my questions." The women looked at each other nervously, not sure if they should or not. "Don't worry, I'm not with the newspaper or any TV station. I am just a simple bystander who would like to get as much information as possible on that house."

"Are you looking to buy it or something?" The brunette said defensively. Yasuhara was shocked a little at the tone, but pushed it aside and smiled a little more.

"No, my boss is currently helping them with some…issues they are having and he asked me to collect information. Please, anything and everything you say will be kept a secret between me and my boss."

"It's haunted."

"Airu!" The brunette looked at her friend, shocked.

"What? It's not like he could do anything bad anyway," Airu said, turning to her friend. "Even if he does spread the information around, who is going to care? We all know it is true."

"That it is haunted?" Yasuhara asked as he pulled out his pencil and began to take notes on the blank piece of paper he had prepared.

"Not only haunted, but possessed. Do you know how many times things have moved in that house?" Airu turned her full attention o Yasuhara and began to go off on everything she knew. "The last two times I was there, the front door has changed locations. Not only that, but it seems the doorways and rooms themselves change. The first time I was there, the bathroom was on the left side on the second floor hallway. When I went over again a few months later, it was on the right on the first floor."

"Could it be they had two bathrooms?" Yasuhara asked, but the woman just shook her head.

"I asked about it, and they said they only had one bathroom and it was on the first floor. But I swear, it was on the second floor before."

"What about the third time you went over?"

"It was back on the second floor." Silence took them over as Yasuhara quickly wrote this down.

"That's not all," The brunette shifted uncomfortable as she looked anywhere but Yasuhara. "I went over one day because my boy kicked his ball on their yard. When I knocked on the front door to ask if I could get it back, no one answer, so I thought that maybe no one was home. So I went back there by myself but when I went back there, some little kid had the ball. I asked for it back, but they just laughed and ran inside the house."

"What happened next?" Yasuhara asked when the woman paused for a few minutes.

"I knocked on the door, trying to get it back, but instead of the little girl answering, Mr. Hoen answered and yelled at me. I told him his daughter took my sons ball, but he said he didn't have any children nor was there any on his property. Then he pointed to the yard and told me my sons ball was right there and to get off his property."

"So wait, a little girl kidnapped your son's ball and ran in the house, but according to Mr. Hoen, there were no children there and that your son's ball was in his yard?" Yasuhara asked, trying to sum up everything.

The woman shifted uncomfortably again before nodding. "The scary part was that he was right. My son's ball was where it had landed back in the yard."

Yasuhara wrote this all down before looking back up at the women. "What about the previous owners? Did anything happen with them? Do you know any reports or notice anything out of the ordinary?"

"No, not really. The Sontas were really nice. They rarely came out of the house and when they did, they looked a little…out of it."

"What do you mean out of it?" Yasuhara flipped the page, making more room to write.

"Well, Mr. Sontas wife was ill. She had been pregnant a few months before they moved in and well…she had a miscarriage. Apparently, she was so upset, that she got extremely ill. Mr. Sonta had to work three jobs and take care of her, so he didn't get much sleep." Airu said, trying to think more about the old neighbor.

"From what I heard, he was sick a lot himself too, but he never showed it because he wanted his wife to get better." The brunette chimed in, seeming a little more comfortable with the conversation.

"Do you know what happened to them?" Yasuhara asked. He already knew what had happened to them, but he wanted to see if what he had found was correct.

"They moved out, what was it…two years ago?" Airu looked at her friend, not sure of her answer.

"Two years ago?" Yasuhara asked, complete surprise filling his expression.

"Yea, about two years ago, they moved out. Why?" Airu asked, not understanding his surprise.

"No reason. I just have one more question. Did you happen to see them move out or was this something you heard?

"We saw the moving truck and we saw people carrying boxes out of the house, but no, we never saw Mr. or Mrs. Sontas leave the house." Airu said, sounding a little confused on why he wanted to know that.

"Thank you for your time," Yasuhara smiled. The women smiled before bowing and continuing their walk. Yasuhara reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone and dialing the number he knew by heart. It rang two times before he heard the familiar annoyed voice on the other side of the line.

"Yes?"

"Naru? I have something you need to hear," Yasuhara said as he began to head back in the way of the library. He needed to go review all the notes he had taken and he needed to do a little more digging. There was a noise before Naru spoke up again.

"You are on speaker. What is going on?"

"First off, I just talked to these two nice ladies on my way back and I have to say they were really pretty. One of them might even be Bou-san's type. Not that he needs anyone else when he has me. Oh! I know, do you want me to set up a double date with them?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" He heard Bou-san say from a distance away. He assumed he wasn't next to the phone like Naru.

"Like I said I met these wonderful ladies and-"

"Yasuhara, stop wasting my time. What do you have for me?" Naru said, sounding tired.

"Oh right!" Yasuhara took a left turn and headed down the road, adjusting his papers so he could see. "I was talking to the woman about the house we are investigating and they gave me some interesting things. First off, apparently the first woman said the house changed. The first time she was over, the bathroom was on the second floor and the second time she was over, it was on the first."

"What about the third time?"

"Back on the second floor," Yasuhara flipped the paper, ready to talk about the Sontas.

"Matsuzaki, where is Mai?" Naru asked, his voice sounding distance. Yasuhara waited for a reply, but all he heard was a muffled noise.

"Did she say what floor it was on?" Naru voice came again. There was another reply that Yasuhara couldn't hear. "Radio her and Father Brown and tell them to find out what floor the bathroom is on and I want them to check it every hour for the next twenty four hours. If it changes, I want to know how many times and the times."

"Naru," Yasuhara called, bringing his attention back to him. He had just reached the small library that was in the small town and was using a small waist high wall around it as a table as he flipped through the papers. "There is something else."

"What is it?"

"The previous owners, the Sontas, died eight years ago, but according to the women, they moved out two years ago."

"There is a six year gap there…" Naru said, thinking to himself. There was silence as Yasuhara went to the notes he had taken earlier on them. "How did they die?"

"They went missing according to the police," Yasuhara scanned his notes, grabbing the information he needed. "There was a complaint of loud screams but when the police arrived, there was no one in the house. The only thing they could find was blood that was everywhere. They assumed it was a murder and or kidnapping. Though, they never found the bodies and after a half a year they gave up."

"Did the woman psychically see them move out two years ago?" Naru asked. There was a noise and he heard footsteps.

"Wait, what do you mean they just gave up?" It was Bou-san. "Why would the police just give up on something like that and especially after such a short time?"

"Apparently, it wasn't something on the top of their list of things to do. Around that time, there was a serial kidnapper going around collecting children and young teenagers.""Did they find the person who did it?" It was Ayako. Yasuhara guessed she had moved closer to the phone at some point.

"No, apparently, there was no trace of them ever going missing. It was like they vanished," Yasuhara turned the pages and skimmed down it, trying to find the one piece of information he needed. "Here it is. A few months after the children stopped disappearing, one of the bodies appeared of a…Misaki Sato. He was six years old and was the second child to go missing."

"Naru!" Yasuhara listened as he heard the door slam open and someone run it. "I can't find Mai!"

"What?" Naru, Bou-san and Ayako said at the same time. Yasuhara listened as the person explained.

"One minute we were changing the tapes in the cameras and when I turned around to grab the new tape, she suddenly vanished. I looked for her all over the house and I can't find her," Yasuhara recognized the voice as John's and he sounded out of breath.

"Damn it." Naru said to himself. "Matsuzaki, help Father Brown look around the house. Takigawa, check outside and around the house. Go into the forest if you have to. Lin, see if you can catch her on any of the tapes."

"What do you want me to do?" Yasuhara asked as he collected his papers, getting ready to run back to the house.

"I want you to get as much information you can on those children who went missing along with the Santo's and report back as soon as possible. If you have to, talk to some of the neighbors."

"Roger!" Yasuhara hung up and began to run back in the direction of the house. He had already collected the information on the children and since he could only find a little information on the Santos, he decided to get whatever else he could from the neighbors around town.

* * *

_Come back_

_Stay here with us_

_We won't hurt you_

The voices rung in Mai's ear, causing her to cover her aching head. The blood that slowly moved through it pounded over and over, making it worse.

_Don't leave_

_Stay with us_

_We won't hurt you_

The coldness around her stung her skin and with every in breath she took, her lung were set on fire. She needed to get out of here.

_Come back_

_Don't leave_

_We won't hurt you_

Mai looked around one last time, not completely sure on how she had gotten out here in the forest or how she was ever go to find her way back.

* * *

Hey! I know, I disappeared for a while! I apologize because of that! I wasn't in the writing mood and when I tried to write, it was horrible! But now I'm back and I promise, the next time I update wont be in two or three months...it will be in four^^ No, not really, probably next week or something. I need to catch up on this. I hate dragging it out like this, and I hate making you lovelies wait.

So here is the next chapter! Sorry it was on the boring side, but this stuff is important and yea...but Oh no! Mai got lost...again...like EVERY single case they go on...where are you naru!?

I do not, under any circumstance, own Ghost Hunt. All rights go to the Author; Fuyumi Ono

I do not, under any circumstance, own the Picture used with this story. All rights go to the Artist, SARETTA1 **(saretta1 . deviantart . com) **(*please minus spaces before adding to your url box)


	6. Chapter 6 The Missing are Found

_The Missing are Found  
_

_Come back_

_Don't leave_

_We won't hurt you_

Mai looked around on last time, not completely sure on how she had gotten out here in the forest or how she was ever going to find her way back. The tall dark trees that stood above her kept the bright warming sun from reaching her and the silence that filled the air around her seemed to only grow thicker with every passing minute. She wanted to find her way out.

"Mommy!" came a voice, the sound of laughter following quickly. "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Look what I found!" Suddenly the deep dark forest changed. The trees disappeared, creating a bright opening. The once dead grass came to life, turning the once brown ground green. Some flowers sprung to life in some areas; though most by the base of the small hill that held a house on top. Mai almost immediately as the backyard to the Hoen's house.

A young girl no older than six ran past Mai and over to the woman waiting for her.

"What did you find?" The woman, who Mai assumed was the mother, asked.

"Look!" The little girl held up a small purple and white flower. A smile spread across the mother's face as she looked at the mixture of two colors.

"And where did you get that?"

"Someone gave it to me!" The mother took the flower and placed it behind her daugther's ear, making its new home in her hair. "Some pretty lady in the forest!" The mother stopped and looked down at her daughter.

"A lady…in the forest?"

"Yep!" The young girl said happily, oblivious to her mother's shock and fearful face. "She was really really nice and stuff! She even told me to come back later!"

"Don't go back." The mothers voice was harsh. The girl stared up at her, confused. "I don't ever want you to go back in that forest ever again, you hear me? I don't ever want you going back in there."

"Why not mommy?"Mai watched as the mother spoke but no words seemed to come out. "But she was really nice!" The girl pleaded, looking on the verge of tears. Again the mother began to move her mouth, but no words would come out. Then something caught her mother's attention and when she looked, her expression turned to horror.

"Mai," called a voice. Mai jumped a little and turned to find a man standing there, a small sad smile tracing his lips.

"Naru, don't scare me like that," Mai grabbed her chest, her heart beating a little too fast. Even though she knew Naru was here something still felt off. Wasn't she awake? Though, looking at the paled face boy in all black, she could easily tell this was the Naru from her dreams. The real Naru never smiled at her or used such a soft tone with her. So, when did she fall asleep? "Why can't I hear her?"

"Don't." Mai looked back at the boy confused, only to head him continue. "Don't turn around. It's not something you should see."

"What is it?" Mai asked, her curiosity and fear growing.

"A massacre."

* * *

"Where could she be?" Ayako asked. Her head was sticking up from the small entrance into the attic. She had climbed the ladder to the top and was now checking to see if the missing girl was in there. Sadly, she wasn't. She climbed back down the stairs and looked at John. "We've checked everywhere."

"I hope she's okay." John said quietly. Ayako could tell he was really worried and was probably blaming himself. "One minute she was right next to me and the next she was gone. How could this happen?"

"I'm sure she is fine," Ayako said as she closed the attic door. She was trying to get John's mind off of it because she knew it wasn't anyone's fault. "She probably just wondered off, that's all. We will find her."

"But…" John trialed off. Ayako gave him a confused look, but waited for him to continue. "Early today, after the fire, she was acting strange…"

"Strange how?"

"Well, when I was checking the camera by the forest and I saw her staring into the forest with this blank look on her face. I asked her what was wrong, but I guess she didn't hear me because than she started walking towards it. That's when I called out her name again and she seemed to go back to normal. She said she saw a cat go in there, but I didn't see anything."

"Did you tell Naru this?" Ayako said as she took a step down the hall. John shook his head as him and Ayako began to head back to base.

"I didn't think anything of it at the time."

"Maybe we should. It might have something to do with her going missing," Ayako said. She opened the base door and looked inside to find Bou-san and Yasuhara standing behind Lin, staring at the screens. "What's going on?"

"Did you find her?" Naru asked.

"No, she isn't anywhere in the house." Ayako said as she closed the door behind her.

"I checked all around the outside. I even went into the forest, but there wasn't any sign of her being there." Bou-san said as he turned to them. "I ran into Yasuhara when I was on my way to ask the neighbors about it."

"They don't know anything though," Yasuhara added.

"Of course not," Ayako sighed. Mai had gone missing about a hour or two ago, and even though there really wasn't much to worry about, they couldn't help but do just that. Mai was known for getting in danger and with her missing like this, it was only a matter of time before something happened to her.

"But we did find something interesting!" Yasuahara said, pointing at the screen. Her and John walked over to them and waited as in backed up the tape. As he hit play, Ayako and John both saw the scene play out in front of them from the kitchen earlier. Bou-san was trying to calm the flames with a fire extinguisher as Naru and John stayed back towards the door. By this point, Ayako had already left to call the fire department. But what caught everyone's attention was Mai, who was crouched off to the side, talking to herself.

"Do we have audio?" Naru asked. Lin slowly turned it up so the whole room was filled with the sound of her voice.

"Didn't mean what?" They heard her ask. They saw her look over her shoulder, before turning back to face the wall. "What do you mean?" It was hard to hear her over the yelling of Bou-san and the noise of the fire, but somehow, they heard every word "Hatia what do you mean we made them anger?"

"I called the fire department, they are on their way!" Ayako reappeared in the doorway, pushing John out the door to get everyone out. That was when Bou-san threw aside the fire extinguisher and stared up at the growing flames.

"Alright, get everyone out!" Naru moved out of the way as Bou-san ran out of the room followed by Ayako. He was about to leave as well, but he stopped when he saw Mai. "Mai, let's go!"

"Come on, we need to get out!" Mai yelled as she reached for something, but stopped. That was when Naru walked over and grabbed her, dragging her out. The thing that seemed to worry everyone was the fact that her eyes remained on the same spot.

"That's not all," Lin said as he let the tape continue. They all stared at it, waiting for something to happen, but saw nothing but the fire department rushing in minutes later. "Did you see it?"

"What was that?" Naru asked as he brought his hand to his chin. He seemed to be the only one to have seen it.

"What?" Bou-san asked, looking between the two men. "What did you see?"

"Didn't you notice that the fire didn't spread?" Yasuhara said, copying Naru's posture. This earned his a glare, but he pretended not to notice.

"Yes, but there was something else," Naru let his arm drop as he turned his attention to the Chinese man. "Back up and pause it."

Lin did as he said and when everyone looked closely, in the exact spot that Mai had been staring at, there was a girl.. Her small structure was small and looked even more so in the overly large clothes she had been wearing. She had shoulder length brown hair that surrounded her white face. The bright, yet deep green eyes stared up at the camera, glaring into it as a small smile traced her pale pink lips.

"Who is that?" Ayako asked, leaning closer.

"Yasuhara?" Naru asked. Yasuhara opened the file and flipped through some papers.

"Lily Osami. She went missing about eighteen years ago." Yasuhara read. "Apparently, her and her young siblings, Mascia and Magee, both twin boys, went missing as well. No one ever found out what had happened to them or where their bodies were."

"That's horrible," Ayako said softly.

"What's horrible?" asked a voice that made everyone turn around.

"Mai!" Bou-san yelled as he ran over to the brown haired girl and engulfed her in a hug. "Where have you been, we've been so worried about you!"

"I can't breathe!" Mai gasped as she tried to find some way for air to enter her lungs.

"Let her go," Ayako hit Bou-san off the top of his head, making him pull away a little. "Mai, where have you been? We have been so worried about you!"

"Sorry, I got lost."

"Doing what?" John asked. Mai turned to him and smiled. "I saw a something moving out by the forest. I said I was going to check it out, but I guess you didn't hear me."

"I guess not," John said. He noticed that something was off, but he said nothing, not wanting to accuse her of something that was just part of his imagination.

"Well now that that is solved, we have one more issue." Naru said, drawing everyone's attention back to him. He kept his eyes on Mai, silently studying her as he continued. "The Hoens are going to be home soon, so how are we going to explain their burned kitchen?"

"Not only that," Yasuhara cut in. "I filed a report to the police about their missing daughter and even though it hasn't been fourty-eight hours, they said they would look into it. I just got a message from the detective handling the case and he said that the Hoen's daughter was at school today."

"She was at school?" Mai asked, sounding confused. "I thought she went missing."

"Well I guess she was mistaken. Her daughter must have gone over her friend's house or something." Naru said, ending the conversation there. He then turned his attention to Lin, ready to say something, when Mai cut in.

"How could she be wrong? Her daughter is only six years old! She doesn't just wonder to some friend's house!" Mai sounded as if she was on the verge of yelling, which startled everyone.

"Doesn't mean it's not possible. She could have easily done just that. Mrs. Hoen should have checked her daughter's friend's houses before assuming that she went missing." Naru said, turning his attention back to her. "That's the end of it. There is no other reason to keep going into it. She is at school and no longer missing."

"But-"

"But nothing." Naru said before turning to Lin. "Did we find anything else on the tapes?"

"Actually yes," Lin said as he pointed to a different screen. "Watch."

* * *

"A….massacre?" Mai repeated as she stared at the man in front of her. "But…how?"

"How what?" Mai spun around to find a young boy standing there, looking up at her. He looked no older than seven or eight and he had a confused look on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"Ah…" Mai trailed off. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say. This little boy had suddenly appeared out of nowhere; not to mention wasn't there suppose to be a massacre happening where he was standing. "Naru what-" Mai cut off when she turned around to find nothing but trees from the forest standing there. She got a bad feeling about something but turned around to face the boy and smiled the best she could. "It's nothing. My name is Mai. What's yours?"

"Misaki Sato."

* * *

Hey look I actually updated! *jumps around excitedly* I can't believe it! Its only been…23 days…*shoves hands in pockets and kicks a random rock* whatever I didn't even care about it that much anyway…..

Anyway I know its been a while, but I hope you all enjoy my lovely updated chapter! I hope I can update again and this time soon. I really don't have much to say…..hmm…..BYE! *runs and does dramatic jump from cliff ledge*

I don't not, under any circumstance, own Ghost Hunt. All rights go to the Author; Fuyumi Ono

I do not, under any circumstance, own the Picture used with this story. All rights go to the Artist, SARETTA1 **  
**


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